Possible Bent Blade?

[kienzan]

So I was/am super excited about my lightsaber and such, but sometimes when I sort of hold it up in the mirror to bask in my jedi glory, I get this weird eery feeling that my blade ever so slightly (and I mean slightly) bends to the left or right. Is there some sort of optical illusion with the ultraedge/led lights or something? I actually don't even notice it unless I'm looking for it, and when I am looking for it, I probably see it for a millisecond 5 percent of the time. Similar to most people having uneven eyes. I've had a coworker say they noticed it too.

Are there any tride and true ways yall jedi masters can teach a padawan like me to test if an ultraedge mid grade blade is slightly bent? Should there be a mark signalling the spot where the blade was bent from contact? From the youtube videos I see, it seems that a localized compression would happen before a blade starts molding to the left or right.

That said, I know mid grade is made for pictures and such. I just had to hit some co workers that I felt carried the dark side of the fawce

[NotoriousVDB]

I have same problem. It kind of bugs you just a little huh? I have a standard midgrade that also seemed a little "bent" and what I did was I used that thing on the iphone that goes with the compass (i have no idea what it is called) but it tells you whether or not something is straight. My blade was not straight. I didn't do anything about it and it isn't a huge deal to me but I totally know its bent which kind of bothers me. My friend has a ultraedge heavy grade that seems straight so I don't know how common it is.

[Vivectius]

Question:  is it bent in the sense of being curved, or bent as in the blade is straight, but the tip is off center of the emitter if you look down the blade at just the right angle?

If it's the latter, then it could just be that the blade isn't seated flush in the emitter, i.e. it's put in at an angle.  Take it out and re-seat it making sure it's all the way in and completely flush.  Or I suppose the base of the blade could be cut at a slight angle so it doesn't sit straight. I've never seen or heard of that happening, but I guess it's possible.

If it's bent, the easiest way to tell would be to put the saber on a flat surface and roll it along the surface (easier with some models than others).  Watch the tip as it rolls.  If the tip goes up or down, and the hilt didn't hit anything on the surface or the hilt (like the switch) then the blade is bent, and you'll know where.

[Landen Se-Sentien]

Take the blade out and roll it on a flat surface.

Also, I've noticed that one or two of my tips don't line up flush with the outer edge of the blade. It makes the blade look bent, even though it's not.

[kienzan]

I found that the blade is a little warped. It might be from some contact I did to play around with the flash on clash. Is there a way to reduce, but not fully fix, the warping? I didn't know mid grades warped that easily...

[kienzan]

Is it possible I could use heat, sorta like a blow dryer, on it for it to form back?

[CyberKyber]

Is it possible I could use heat, sorta like a blow dryer, on it for it to form back?

I wouldn't recommend using heat to "re-settle" the blade, because although you might be successful in making the blade straight again, remember that there is film inside the blade, and it probably doesn't sit well with heat. You could potentially end up with a straight blade with visibly wrinkled film inside =S

[kienzan]

Oh no! Any chance I can create a cool straightening device that keeps it straight for like a week and forms it back? Anyone got any experiences? It's barely noticeable, I'll post a pic after work.

[Jediseth]

I know a way, but it costs $35 buck plus shipping. Then just use the slightly bent blade for dueling and the new blade for show.  It would be wise I heard to take the blades out instead of leaning them up against the wall at an angle.  Just so you know for the future this can bend your blade. As far as fixing your blade, I don't know that there is a way to do that without potential causing damage.

[CyberKyber]

I know a way, but it costs $35 buck plus shipping. Then just use the slightly bent blade for dueling and the new blade for show.  It would be wise I heard to take the blades out instead of leaning them up against the wall at an angle.  Just so you know for the future this can bend your blade. As far as fixing your blade, I don't know that there is a way to do that without potential causing damage.

Haha, love your solution XD Probably the one with least hassle involved

Oh no! Any chance I can create a cool straightening device that keeps it straight for like a week and forms it back? Anyone got any experiences? It's barely noticeable, I'll post a pic after work.

Hmmm, keeping it horizontally rather than vertically is the best way of preventing them from bending, but it's probably not gonna solve it at this point. What you could try is to GENTLY (again, GENTLY, you don't want to wrinkle the foil inside) bend the blade a bit on the opposite direction of the bend over and over until it may re-gain its shape. Not sure if it could work, but maybe(?). The polycarbonate tube is resistant but flexible, so it won't snap. Make sure you don't bend it too much, or you could end up with a kink on the blade =S

[Vivectius]

Oh no! Any chance I can create a cool straightening device that keeps it straight for like a week and forms it back? Anyone got any experiences? It's barely noticeable, I'll post a pic after work.

Yes, the film doesn't like heat, as it's essentially cellophane.  And poly takes a lot of heat to bend, and usually it tends to start warping once you have enough heat on it.

I know a way, but it costs $35 buck plus shipping. Then just use the slightly bent blade for dueling and the new blade for show.  It would be wise I heard to take the blades out instead of leaning them up against the wall at an angle.  Just so you know for the future this can bend your blade. As far as fixing your blade, I don't know that there is a way to do that without potential causing damage.

Why $35?  Why not just $10 for a grab bag blade?  https://www.ultrasabers.com/BLADES-GB-p/blades-gb.htm
Sure it's random whether you get Ultra Edge or standard, and Mid or Heavy Grade, but it's a bit less expensive.  Heck, for $35 you could order 3 and put the leftover $5 towards shipping....


Now, if you're feeling really brave, here's what you can try if it's that important to you.  Take the blade and remove the glue that holds the film in.  VERY carefully take the film out, keeping it as tightly rolled as possible.  Take a dowel rod of the same diameter as the inner diameter of the blade, the measurement of which I cannot remember at the moment, but it should be about 7/8" on a mid-grade blade, and slide it up inside the blade.  Set it vertically, either putting the blade back into the saber and standing it up (but NOT leaning against something, it should stand vertically on it's own with no support), or just standing the blade vertically (again, not leaning against something) and it should, theoretically, straighten itself out in a few days.

Personally, I would not do the above, as I'm not bothered that much by a bent blade, and it's a royal pain dealing with keeping the blade film rolled when it's out of the blade.  But it's an option if you really want to try it.

[pepsiaddict]

It'll take time, effort and trial-and-error but yes you can shape your blade slightly.

Remember how to flatten and dry a flower: put it in a heavy book over a long period of time. Same concept...except you're doing round instead of flat so add another dimension.

The easiest "book" to use is pipe. You can use heavy pipe whose ID is the same as the blade's OD. We're talking exact. Use lube so you don't scratch the blade (water-based is easier to clean than oil-based, plus oil-based may have a negative outcome on the blade's surface). It has to be extremely snug. Ideally you'd put the blade into a copper pipe "sleeve", then insert that into a thick heavy pipe. (In my experience copper pipe is generally extremely smooth inside with rarely any snags to scratch your blade.)

Another kind of pipe to use is pvc (thicker the better) with an ID slightly (VERY slightly) smaller than the blade's OD. Cut the pvc lengthwise. Slide blade in with water-based lube, pipe clamp the bejeebus out of it. Like every half inch to inch a pipe clamp.
Then wait a few weeks.

The next option is v-block clamping. That's basically using two long L braces, put the blade between them, clamp together. And wait. This option has a slight possibility of "flat spotting" the blade since the pressure exerted is hitting 4 points on the blade instead of all the way around.

Another option is flexing. If looking down the blade you see more of a gradual curve than a bend, you can repeatedly (read: slightly) flex it in the opposite direction, a ridiculous number of times, over a few days/weeks.

Please beware that any use of clamps or flex has the possibility of over-clamping/over-flexing and cracking the blade.

Please DO NOT USE HEAT! Heat changes the structure of the blade material. You don't want to change it, just manipulate it.

[pepsiaddict]

Just realized: do you ONLY see it when looking through a mirror? If you never notice it unless looking through the mirror then yes, it's an illusion. Something to do with the led light reflecting off the glass and the reflective material behind the glass, to your eyes. Reflecting/refracting I think, based on the wavelengths of led light.

[kienzan]

Thx a lot pepsiaddict! This sound really helpful! Maybe I should start drinking pepsi

[pepsiaddict]

Lol heavens no, don't drink it.
Makes it harder for me to purchase.